When Americans travel abroad we feel pretty safe, especially when
visiting the countries of our allies and friends. After all, as
citizens of the most powerful country in the world, most governments
take extraordinary measures to avoid disrupting their relationship
with us. Killing one of our citizens with its military sullies
diplomatic relations resulting in international condemnation,
sanctions or worse. Recently one country emerged where killing an
American civilian or our military personnel receives vague notice, a
cursory condemnation and usually no investigation. In fact, our
government goes to extraordinary lengths to protect this country when
it kills American citizens. Its reputation supercedes American lives.

The country of course, Israel. When confronted with the hypocrisy of
America's treatment of all other nations by one set of rules and
Israel's exemption of such, our government and media immediately cite
our "special relationship". Special is right, the United States now
represents the epitome of a battered wife. Lie, cheat, steal or kill,
we forgive, forget and beg for more. The rest of the world refers to
us a whipped, with reason. This emergence of American citizens as
ducks in an Israeli shooting gallery involves more than the most
recent murders and extends to American soil with origins dating to
1967. Through decades of US government acquiescence and media
self-censorship a pattern emerged, supplanting the value of an
American life and labeling us as disposable citizens to protect
Israel's reputation. Both the US Government and the US media share
responsibility for the disposable nature of American lives.

MURDER MISSED BY OUR MEDIA

Two weeks ago an American father and son were murdered in their home
at 3 AM in front of the mother and two siblings in Gaza by Israeli
Defense Forces, (IDF). You're right. You didn't hear about it; they
were not terrorists, agitators or militia. They were simply an
American family trying to improve life under the world's most brutal
ongoing occupation. The reason for the media blackout will become
apparent later in this article. We became aware of it July 8th when
the following e-mail from a source in Palestine dropped into our inbox:

"In a press conference for the sorrowing mother and her daughter and
son, the mother said that when she called the American embassy, they
told her that her family's name is not listed in their files as
residents in the West Bank. The woman then told them that could not be
true because during the Gulf War, the embassy called them and offered
help in leaving the territories, or providing masks against gas, in
case they do not want to leave the West Bank.

The woman said 'How come we were American citizens then, and we are
not American citizens now?'"

Dr. Salah and his son were murdered July 6, 2004.

This e-mail represented our first indication Americans had been
murdered in Palestine. The 'not listed' issue is irrelevant and scary.
If the US Embassy somehow lost track of US Citizens in a war zone kind
of makes you wonder how many of us they lose track of regularly.
Rather incompetent of our country, don't you think? However, the
Salahs identified themselves as American citizens before being shot
and with a son studying in America, the excuse shows its transparency.
Further investigation led to scant details. Over the following days we
scanned the US media trying to find a mention. We found nothing. As
usual, the foreign press covered the story. The American press
ignored it. Murdered Americans are news everywhere but America.

The writer of the above e-mail is the neighbor of the slain American
citizens living in the West Bank, Dr. Khaled Salah, 54and his son
Mohammed Salah, 16. Dr. Salah and his wife Salam are the parents of
four: Diana, 23, Mohammed and Ali, 11 and their oldest son currently
attends college in Boston, working on his degree in electrical
engineering. An American citizen, Dr. Salah received his PhD from UC
Davis.

Choosing to return to Palestine where he could do the most good, Dr.
Salah established the Department of Electrical Engineering at An-Najah
University in Nablus. The University put out the following statement,
"An-Najah National University condemns the killing of its Professor,
Prof. Khalid Salah, of the Faculty of Engineering, early this morning.
He was 54 years old. His sixteen-year old son, Muhammad, was also
killed. Prof. Khalid Salah was killed in cold blood by the Israeli
Occupation Forces in his flat where he lived with his family. Both
were left bleeding for four hours until they died. Medical teams were
not allowed to offer their urgent first aid to them. Prof. Khalid
Salah was born in 1950 and started his work at the university in 1979.
Prof. Khalid Salah was an American citizen. He was awarded his PhD in
the Electrical Engineering from California University (Davis) in 1985.
He received his MSc in Electronic Engineering from Wales in the United
Kingdom in 1980."

Two weeks after the incident, this gut-wrenching article detailing the
murder of Dr. Salah and his son appeared Ha'aretz Daily, the Israeli
newspaper: